Lakeland's Robert Lee and George Lin Earn Award for Instant Tea

Wednesday

In some circles he's known as the king of bourbon chicken, the tasty stir-fry coated in gooey, sweet brown sauce.

LAKELAND | In some circles he's known as the king of bourbon chicken, the tasty stir-fry coated in gooey, sweet brown sauce. But Lakeland restaurateur Robert Lee is now taking on the world of tea.

Green tea, to be exact.

Lee and partner George Lin have teamed with tea growers in their native Taiwan to create a special process for instant cold-brewed green tea. Their product — Swirl Tea — garnered plenty of buzz at the North American Tea Championship held June 1-3 in Las Vegas.

In addition to earning an award for best new product, the peach-flavored line of Swirl Tea placed first in the flavored instant iced tea category, while the original product took second place in the unflavored/unsweetened category.

"After that we got a lot of inquiries," said Lin, who has an MBA from the University of Florida.

The 10-serving packet of Swirl Tea retails for about $3.29. The product's available at Chamberlin's Natural Foods stores, with locations in Lakeland, Kissimmee and greater Orlando.

The beauty of Swirl Tea is its ability to be brewed in cold water in a matter of minutes, rather than taking several hours or steeping overnight, which is the norm, Lin said.

"The unique thing about Swirl Tea is we have special know-how, how we process the tea leaf without using any green tea extracts or powders or flavors," he said. "We don't have to use boiling water."

Because of its health benefits, green tea is gaining market share over other stalwarts, especially flavored and blended herbal teas, Kim Jage, sales and marketing director for World Tea Media, said in an email.

"We think there will be a significant consumer base and awareness for this product category this year," she said, "and we think Swirl will do well. I like the product personally because it tastes great and is easy to enjoy."

Lee owns China Max at Lakeland Square mall's food court, in addition to operating Chinese Cuisine outlets at five Publix Super Markets stores across Florida, including one at Lakeland's Lake Miriam Square. He also sells a line of bourbon chicken sauce and marinade, and a dehydrated fruit snack.

His company — Breezy Spring LLC — sells products at www.alice.com.

Eager to cash in on the growth in green tea products, Lee and Lin traveled to their homeland to work with local tea farmers. Together they created a process for making instant tea from fresh, green tea leaves, maintaining the plant's antioxidant benefits.

Brewing tea and coffee in cold or tap water has certain advantages, as hot water actually cooks as it extracts, changing the flavor. Cold-brewed tea and coffee tends to have less caffeine as well, according to food-science expert Harold McGee.

Consumption of tea, white, green and black tea, has shown to have a number of medicinal benefits and may play a role in reducing some cancers, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Typically, green tea is made by steaming, rolling and drying the leaves. Unlike black tea, it is not fermented. The Lakeland tea entrepreneurs won't discuss their process in detail. But they are basking in the publicity generated by the Las Vegas championship.

"We're sending (samples) to Peru, Mexico and Canada," Lee said.

[ Ledger Reporter Eric Pera can be reached at eric.pera@theledger.com or 863-802-7528. ]

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